In At the Deep End
by Rebecca Jayne
Summary: A new paramedic arrives at Holby - she seems very happy-go-lucky but when she befriends some of the staff, they soon realise that there is more to her than first thought. Meanwhile, Zosia and Chantelle do a three-week placement in the ED and cause a lot of mischief! :) Timings are a bit out of place (for example, Linda left Casualty before Zosia joined Holby) but it's a bit of fun!
1. Chapter 1

**I am meant to be revising at the moment but this idea came to me and will nag at me until I get it down. I am working on two stories at the moment so just bear with me. Enjoy! :)**

It was Monday morning and Sacha Levy had called both Chantelle and Zosia to his office.  
"I wonder why he wants to see us." Chantelle wondered curiously, half-skipping next to Zosia.

"I have absolutely no idea." Zosia replied bluntly, not seeming particularly interested. "But I'm sure we're about to find out." Chantelle's face suddenly changed to a look of terror.

"What if we're in trouble?" She asked, wide-eyed.

"Somehow I doubt it. I wouldn't be surprised if I was but you – somehow I don't think so." Chantelle relaxed at hearing this. They eventually reached Mr Levy's office. Zosia knocked loudly and the two entered on being called to.

"Ah. Thank you for coming up so quickly." Sacha smiled. "I know this is very short notice but I have managed to get you two a three-week placement in the ED." He announced.

"What?" Zosia asked, horrified.

"Ah brilliant!" Chantelle said, elated.

"You are needed down there ASAP. Report to Zoe Hanna, the clinical lead and she will give you further instructions." He told the pair. "It's only three weeks." He added, seeing Zosia's disapproval.

"Fine. Just the two of us?" Zosia asked. The thought of spending three weeks in a department with Chantelle being the only person she knew was slightly daunting. She was a nice person, fair enough and even a friend, but she was just permanently happy.

"Just the two of you." Sacha confirmed.

"This is going to be fantastic!" Chantelle grinned, grabbing Zosia's arm in excitement. "We'd better get down there!" With that, Zosia and Chantelle made their way down to the ED.

Jeff and Dixie were sat in the staffroom, it had been very quiet so far and they had not had any shouts. A new paramedic was meant to be starting that morning but she had not yet turned up and she was very close to being late.

"Hello?" They heard a voice and a blonde-haired girl no older than about twenty-three poked her head around the door. She had a warm, dazzling smile upon her face.

"Hiya love! You must be Charlotte Benson?" Dixie asked, standing up.

"Yes I am." The girl replied.

"I'm Dixie, this is Jeff." She introduced.

"Great to meet you both!" Charlotte said, hugging them both, which took them by surprise.

"Right, you go and get your uniform on and we'll meet you by the ambulance in five." Dixie told her.

"Okay!" She agreed, before bouncing off to the changing rooms.

"That's exactly how our Pol was on her first day." Jeff pointed out.

"She seems nice enough but she's not Polly. Don't forget that."


	2. Chapter 2

"Any ideas what they're like down in the ED?" Zosia asked Chantelle as they stepped into the lift.

"Oh they're lovely! Well, I've only met Charlie, he's the charge nurse and been there, like forever but he's really nice! You will like it, honestly." She told her. The lift jolted to a halt and the doors opened, revealing the hustle and bustle of the emergency department. Chantelle's eyes lit up and she dashed over to the reception desk, Zosia in tow. "Hello Charlie!" She greeted.

"Chantelle! I heard you were doing a spin down here. How are you?" Charlie replied, amused at the young nurse's enthusiasm.

"I'm really excited!" She grinned in reply. "Oh! This is Zosia, she's on a placement here too." Chantelle introduced the two. Charlie nodded hello.

"Dr March?" Zoe Hanna questioned, coming up behind.

"Yes, you must be Zoe Hanna?"

"I am. It's great to have you here. Give us a minute and I will introduce you both to everyone." Zoe informed. Minutes later, the whole department were gathered in reception. "Right, everyone. We have the pleasure of having Dr March and Nurse Lane join us from Keller for the next three weeks." She turned to the two. "I know you are both very capable but I am going to assign you mentors because working in the ED can be a bit of a challenge even for the more experienced. So Zosia, you are going to be with Sam and Chantelle, you're with Linda. There is work to be done, jump to it!" Zoe ordered and with that, the staff dispersed and Zosia and Chantelle went over to their respective mentors.

"Hello." Linda greeted Chantelle with a friendly smile.

"Hello!" Chantelle answered.

"Are you ready for this? You have no idea what you've got yourself into!" She laughed.

"I'm always ready for a challenge!"

"That's always good to hear. Do you fancy giving me a hand with a moody teenager in cubicle four?"

"Absolutely!"

Surprisingly, Zosia and Sam seemed to be getting on quite well. Surprisingly in the sense that Sam was superior to Zosia and the fact that Zosia tended to say what she thought and speak out of turn.  
"So did you always want to be a doctor?" Sam asked, at the same time as filling out a discharge form.

"Yes. Mama was a nurse and my dad's a doctor. You?" Zosia responded.

"When I was five I wanted to be a P.E teacher. Aged eleven my grandfather told me I would be a good doctor so I pursued that, ended up in the army and then ended up here." She explained.

"You were an army medic?" Zosia said in surprise. "Why did you leave?"

"It's a long story."

"We're not busy."

"I shot a man." Sam said simply. Zosia looked slightly confused.

"So?"

"He hadn't done anything. He pulled something out of his pocket, I thought it was dangerous so I shot him. Dead. And then found out it was only an inhaler."

"You weren't to know." Zosia tried to reassure her.

"I made a mistake. Left, now I'm here and it's in the past. Let's not mention it anymore shall we?" Zosia thought it was best not to push it.

"Fine." She agreed.


	3. Chapter 3

"So what are your family like?" Jeff asked curiously as the three of them were en route to an RTA. Charlotte tensed up and hesitated slightly.

"There's just me, my younger sister and our stepdad now. Dad walked out just before Millie was born and mum died eight months ago." She explained.

"Sorry to hear that." Jeff apologised gravely.

"The three of you, you must be close." Dixie chipped in.

"Millie and I are very close but not really with Darren. He's rarely at home. We were very close to mum though."

"So how old is your sister?"

"Nine." She replied.

"And does she plan to join us little green men?" Jeff questioned. Charlotte laughed.

"No, she has Down's Syndrome. Millie's not at all like people assume Down's people are. She goes to a mainstream school, she isn't academically bright but she always tries so hard. She's always so happy and affectionate. If she sees somebody upset she will give them a hug and usually a biscuit." Charlotte chuckled.

"Bless her. She sounds like a lovely little girl." Dixie said, sensing the young paramedic's genuine love for her sister.

"She is." Charlotte smiled. Very shortly after their conversation, the ambulance reached the scene of the accident.

"Not really a very wise place to park your car is it?" Jeff commented, referring to a green Corsa, which had rammed through a bus shelter. They all jumped out of the ambulance and quickly made their way over to the scene. "Are you alright to take the little girl in the back?" He asked.

"Sure!" Charlotte responded, going round the back of the car and opening the door. "Hello." She said to a small, dark-haired child. "My name's Charlotte. What's your name?" She asked gently. The girl said nothing. Charlotte came to the conclusion that there was nothing physically wrong with her, she was just scared. "Right, well can I get you of this car and take you into my ambulance?"

"I want mummy." She sniffled.

"I know you do poppet. My friends Jeff and Dixie are looking after your mummy though, I promise you they will take very good care of her. Will you come with me? Please?" After a little bit more hesitation, the girl agreed and held out her arms. Charlotte picked her up and took her straight to the ambulance, where she wrapped a blanket around her shoulders. "Now, do you think you can tell me your name?" She asked again.

"Clara." The girl told her.

"That's a very pretty name! Now tell me Clara, does anything hurt at all?"

"No. Can I see mummy now?" Clara looked up at Charlotte with big, brown, pleading eyes that almost brought her to tears.

"Very soon. My friends will bring her into the ambulance and we will all go to the hospital together." She explained at carefully as she could. "It's nothing to be frightened of, everybody there is very nice." She added, noticing the look of terror on the child's face. "How old are you Clara?" Clara looked at her fingers and started working out the right number to show. After a few seconds, she held up five fingers.

"Four." She told Charlotte, who laughed.

"Now, that's five fingers. See? One, two, three, four, five." She said, touching each one of Clara's fingers as she counted.

"Oh." The little girl said, in a tone of defeat.

"So are you four? Or five?"

"I know I am four." She said.

"Okay, good. Look, here's your mummy now." Charlotte said as Jeff and Dixie loaded the woman into the ambulance. She was unconscious. "She's sleeping now, but you can hold her hand." She told Clara, who reached out and took hold of one of her mother's fingers. The ambulance revved into action and off they all went.


End file.
